The invention relates to the general field of electrical power supply, and more particularly to control devices connected in electrical power supply lines.
It is common practice to use devices connected in power supply lines in order to control the current flowing in such lines. Such devices also serve to provide protection against certain events such as short circuits or the occurrence of lightning.
Such devices may be electronically controlled and they are generally referred to by the person skilled in the art as solid state power controllers (SSPCs). They operate in a manner analogous to an electronic circuit breaker.
It may be observed that in such devices, a current is measured, and it is as a function of the measured value of this current that a decision is taken on how to control a semiconductor component of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) type or of the metal oxide on silicon field effect transistor (MOSFET) type, i.e. whether it is to occupy a conductive state or a non-conductive state.
Certain applications involve using high voltage direct current (HVDC) on electrical power supply lines. Under such circumstances, present devices are not satisfactory concerning their level of losses, their level of integration, and the level of protection that they provide.
The invention seeks in particular to mitigate such drawbacks.